Monday, 9 March 2009

No One Masterminding Movement Against Use Of English

The movement against the use of English in the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science (GMP) Monday denied it was being masterminded by certain groups including the opposition parties, Bernama reports.

GMP chairman Datuk Dr Hassan Ahmad said based on what transpired at the gathering on Saturday to protest against the use of English in the teaching of the two subjects was outside the power of the GMP, and "the GMP considered their presence as an expression of their support."

"No mastermind behind the incident. We are not a shadow play that is being directed by someone...those who came (to the gathering) as supporters, I don't want to say they are puppets, it's like an insult (to me)," he said at a press conference at 'Rumah Pena', in Kuala Lumpur.

Hassan said this when commenting on the statement by Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein yesterday that the gathering on Saturday was masterminded by the opposition based on the presence of several of their leaders at the street demonstration.

The gathering organised by the GMP, which was originally aimed at handing over a memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was also joined by several opposition party leaders including PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, besides a small group of demonstrators who were seen carrying several opposition party logos.

Hassan said the GMP was not a movement that was politically inclined but upheld the basic principle of reverting to the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science in Bahasa Malaysia. Bernama full report here...

5 comments:

a concerned parent.
said...

I think Dato Hassan has got a pointwhen he said:“How can you teach Maths and Science in English to pupils who don’t even understand English when they first come to school, whether Chinese or Indians or Malays?”

The teaching of English should be improved, so students could master the language.

I agree with him that we should improve the techniques of teaching English, expose children to good literature and get experts to devise a method that works.

Guru-guru sekarang yang mengajar kedua mata pelajaran ini adalah product dari the National Education system which uses Malay as the medium of instruction.

That is the problem. Until & unless the Ministry allocates enough resources to train teachers in English to teach Maths & Science, I think the ones who are going to lose out are the pupils in the rural areas.

I think a lot of people are confused between policy and implementation.

Policy: Do we want our children to used English as lingua franca for teaching in Science and Maths?

Answer : Yes? No?

Implementation: If English is the medium of choice, what does it takes to ensure such effective execution to ALL?teachers?books?Then address the shortcommings in the execution to meet the objectives - the policy.

You do not have the time to debate policies every few years. Time does not wait for the wimp.

Life is unfair. Get used to it. I am still working my ass off for a piece of Porsche 911. And, there is no level playing field anywhere - did not find it in Timbuktu, did not find it in Uk, and did not find it in USofA, and certainly did not find the level playing field in Egypt or holy land of Saudi Arabia.

Simply put, these 'Movement against the use of English in Science and Maths' want to flex their muscle.

Can I ask why is the group predominantly Malay in nature?I must have been blind, because I hardly noticed any 'dan lain lain' in the group of protesters.

Honestly, I find it hard to imagine why in the world would some people object to teaching in English? How many words in the Malay language these days have been bastardised(if there is such a word) from the English language? I tune in to bernama radio almost everytime I am in the car to brush up on my Malay, and today, I heard words like 'Impak'(impact) Demonstrasi (demonstration, in the context of showing, and not rioting!!

Does it kill our language, if we improve both our English and Malay? I certainly do not think so, and as usual, the politicians are playing to the crowd, now saying that the policy of PPSMI is under review. If they revert back to Malay, I will HOMESCHOOL my kids! And if it does happen, I am happy to take in other kids too!!! (provided that their parents help out in the homeschool!!!)

Have a Heart: Save IJN

Israel’s assault on Gaza, by air, sea and now land, has killed (at the time of this writing) more than 600 Palestinians, with more than 2,700 injured. Ten Israelis have been killed, three of them Israeli soldiers killed by friendly fire. Beyond the deaths and injuries, the people of Gaza are suffering a dire humanitarian crisis that is dismissed by the Israeli government. There is, however, Israeli opposition to the military assault. Read here...

Human Rights

Tok Mommy

About Me

Child Safety

Parents, guardians, and adults who care for children face constant challenges when trying to help keep children safer in today's fast-paced world.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) offers easy-to-use safety resources to help address these challenges.
For decades, children were taught to stay away from "strangers." But this concept is difficult for children to grasp and often the perpetrator is someone the child knows.
It is more beneficial to help build children's confidence and teach them to respond to a potentially dangerous situation...
Read more...

Why Hamas is NOT the issue

Mohammed, age six, marched with determination to his bedroom, put on a record of the Fatah marching song, picked up a wooden toy rifle and marched out to the balcony. He pointed the rifle to the sky where minutes ago, Israeli planes flew over dropping bombs on Palestinian refugee sites. Mohammed told me he wanted to be a pilot so he could fight Israeli warplanes. “But Mohammed, the Palestinians do not have planes.” “I don’t care, I will fight them whatever way I can.”Was a resistance fighter born this minute or was he a “future terrorist”? (Beirut 1973)

How does one explain the horrific fate that has befallen caged Gaza – a land saturated with rubble and body parts – carpet-bombed by air, invaded by ground, attacked by sea? Put to the test of history, Israeli “explanations” fail the credibility test. continue here---------------------------------------------Robert Fisk: Leaders lie, civilians die, and lessons of history are ignoredWe've got so used to the carnage of the Middle East that we don't care any more – providing we don't offend the Israelis. It's not clear how many of the Gaza dead are civilians, but the response of the Bush administration, not to mention the pusillanimous reaction of Gordon Brown, reaffirm for Arabs what they have known for decades: however they struggle against their antagonists, the West will take Israel's side. As usual, the bloodbath was the fault of the Arabs – who, as we all know, only understand force. ..Continue here

War on Gaza

Israel's failure to learnBy Nir Rosen (Aljazeera)

When George Bush, the US president, first entered the White House as the commander-in-chief in 2001, Palestinians were being killed in the al-Aqsa intifada.

Eight years later, as Bush prepares to leave office, Israel is carrying out one of the largest massacres in its 60-year occupation of Palestine.

The US, then and now, strongly backs Israel's offensive, justifying it as being, in fact, defensive.To continue read here ...